Kinga's Revenge: MST3K's Christmas Gauntlet

In the not too distant future...maybe sometime before Christmas...

Kinga and Max want to get revenge on Jonah for locking them into that other theater he made for them after the Gauntlet, so they'd know what it's like to riff bad movies.
Sure, they were able to get out after an hour thanks to the Boneheads' safe-cracker skills, but were also surprised what movies were riffed. Then, they willingly saw all those movies while the tour was going on.
Sure, Max was a good riffer and Kinga learned she could do it, too.
Still, they're crazy movie tormentors, and they just had to strike back...especially her.

"Time for a little payback, Jonah," Kinga announces from Moon 13 to Jonah, Crow and Servo at the Satellite of Love one day in December. "Behold the CHRISTMAS GAUNTLET!!! Six examples of cinematic horror for the holidays, and there is no..."
"Wait," Jonah says, "we only have three Christmas movies in MST's history, four if you count 'Jack Frost'"
"Well, I don't," Kinga grunted. "It's a dumb winter Cinderella story."
Hands on hips, with hair bones sharper than her mind, she wonders how she can have a gauntlet with three movies.
Then Synthia shows up. "You know," she tells Kinga, "we could steal from the library of our arch enemies."
"Don't say the R word, I keep telling you that," Kinga yells. "I hate those guys over there, Nelson, his fat friends and chirpy wife, Granny Pearl working over there, too. OK, look over what they have, and give me a list. We've done that the past two years, so what's the difference?"
"Will do."
"I'll deck your halls with nightmare-filled boughs of horror, Heston. You'll pray for death via Yule Log!" You'll beg for Hallmark Channel movies! YOU'LL KNOW DEEP HOLIDAY HURTING!!!", as Kinga leaves laughing maniacally.
"Yes, Heston," Synthia says, "you'll suffer. Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...OK, she's gone."
Jonah is puzzled, "Synthia, whose side are you on?"
"My side, of course. I am Pearl 2.0, when I want to be."
"What are you saying?", Servo asks.
"Well, we'll give Kinga her Gauntlet, but you can help out. You know plenty about MST's history, and I know a lot about Rifftrax. We can come up with a list that'll please Evil Pebbles over there, but don't let on. We are still tour buddies, after all."
"Thanks, tour buddy," Crow says.
"OK," Synthia says, "but let's make sure it seems evil"
"That may not be a problem," Jonah says. "I think Rifftrax has holiday movies about as creepy as the ones we've seen."

With that, Kinga got two Gauntlets, the one she gave Jonah, Crow and Servo, and the second one after the first one didn't cause enough harm.

1. Santa Claus (MST Version)

This was the first exposure for most to a Mexican movie that features Santa, who doesn't play a big part in the holiday season down there. Still, it's an odd look on how he prepares for Christmas Eve with kids instead of elves, and his showdown with Pitch, a devil that's a bit too greasy. Santa hopes to bring a doll to a poor little girl, and teach the parents of a rich boy that Christmas should include their son. The host segments include a nice holiday song, the famous JOIKE sweater and a family reunion that doesn't work out

2. Rifftrax Christmas Shorts-stravaganza

This holiday treat from 2009 was the first big theater event that led to its ten-year run of riffing movies nationwide. It includes some strange holiday shorts, including Christmas from the point of view of the tree, and a pre-Rankin/Bass version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This includes Kevin's famous flub that derailed the riff and made it better.

3. Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, Rifftrax (Thumbelina version)

If there's a holiday version of Manos, this is it. We see elves singing while making toys, blissfully unaware Santa's stranded on a hot Florida beach because his reindeer flew away. It's hard to say which is more absurd: his song about his plight, or what the kids try to do to get him off the ground.
Then he stops to tell the story of Thumbelina, as dramatized at a long-forgotten amusement park called Pirates World. This was made by Barry Mahon, who also made some racy movies along with "Rocket Attack USA" (riffed on MST in 1990).
After the story, Santa gets rescued by the not-at-all known Ice Cream Bunny, complete with fire engine. Part of its route is, of course, Pirates World. Santa's Christmas is saved, which may explain why his sleigh disappears at the end. By this time, so has the audience.

4. Christmas That Almost Wasn't (MST3K, 2017)

Of course, the current series should be represented. It's about Santa facing homelessness because he can't pay the rent, and his landlord, Mr. Prune, is meaner than Scrooge. Santa actually has to get a job being, well, himself at a department store, but Prune rigs it so Santa will be without a home. A bunch of kids save the day by stealing the ending of another holiday movie.
The host segments include Kinga being about as un-cheery as you can get. Santa does show up (although he looks suspiciously like Joel Hodgson).

5. Santa's Village of Madness  (Rifftrax, 2014)

This trio of shorts features a bunch of animal mascots who supposedly live with Santa on the North Pole. They were actually part of K. Gordon Murray's kid's movies back in the 1960's. There's a slight connection with the Santa Claus movie Murray imported to the USA.
What's interesting about the shorts is that they have the exact same opening credits. Only the titles are different, if not the plots. They were actually made at Santa's Village parks in the Midwest and Califonia. The third short is maybe the strangest, because the "writers" decided at the last minute to threaten Santa with an ogre that's off-camera. Its defeat is also off-camera but the closing song would have also defeated the ogre because it is THAT painful to hear.

6. Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (MST3K)

The one, the only, the original. As Santa preps for his Christmas ride, some people from Mars want to kidnap him because apparently Christmas cheer is needed there, too, Two kids from Earth get involved, of course, along with a goofy comedy relief named Droppo.
However, it's the host segments that make it a classic, including "Patrick Swayze Christmas"and Joel and the Bots reading essays about Christmas and Gypsy getting the true meaning without a word.

After this Gauntlet dented but didn't defeat Jonah and the Bots, Kinga is about to give them Hallmark Channel movies. However, she's interrupted by a big hulking guy in chains.
"Oh, no, Marley's Ghost has come to....wait, I don't know anyone named Marley," she says. "Donna, is this one of yours?"
"Sorry," Dr. Donna St. Phibes says. "He's Murray from 'The Brain That Wouldn't Die.' You  know, the guy Dr. Cortner was building in his transplant experiments."
"Yes, I remember," Kinga says, "I notice his face is still tied to the back."
"Well, I think he wanted to scare you after seeing the Christmas Carol movie with Alistair Sim."
"Murray also sorry," Murray says (yeah, he can talk now after more than 50 years). "Murray wonders what Kinga got against those guys."
"Hey, it's what I do. Take him away, Donna," Kinga says. "He's the man in your life, not who I suspect you want."
"Oh, what do you mean?", Donna says, obviously being cagey. She leaves, but Kinga seems to hear something from Murray that hints he may be playing dumb, too.
"Well, it seems you're familiar with these movies," Kinga says to Jonah. "So here's another Gauntlet for you guys. I can guarantee you a couple of these selections will give you slightly deep hurting. Some of the others are alternate versions of what you just saw."

The second gauntlet begins with...

1. Santa Claus (Rifftrax Live version)

Kinga thinks Jonah and the bots get an extra jab by showing them the uncut movie, which includes more of Lupita's dream where some Raggedy Anitas try to tempt her into stealing a doll, and a lot of padding that's mainly Merlin trying to walk across the room.
It's preceded by one of those "At Your Fingertips" shorts, where this time kids are advises to mold sugar into many shapes. Basic Diabetes bombs.

2. Bridget and Mary Jo Christmas (Rifftrax)

Kinga wasn't eager to give the guys this selection, but she hopes the shorts will do some damage. Bridget Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl celebrate the holidays in their own special way with holiday images. The first one features a Castle Films version of "Scrooge"with Alistair Sim, Dean Martin singing, and "The Little Lamb" and how it gave Jesus his first gift.
The second version has a short about carving turkey that includes Harvey Korman plus some commercials and home movies given to them from a prop maker named Beez

3. I Believe In Santa Claus (Rifftrax)

When Kinga discovered this 1984 film from France (thanks to Synthia's "help"), she was certain it would be worse than Christmas That Almost Wasn't. She's right, because it's about a young boy who wants his parents to be with him at Christmas. One problem: they've been kidnapped by African terrorists, and the government isn't eager to get them back.
Thanks to the fool-proof method of wishing really hard, the boy along with a young girl wind up in Finland to ask Santa to save them. He also gets a Christmas fairy named Mary Ellen to help him, and she looks suspiciously like the boy's teacher. Santa and Mary Ellen transport themselves to Africa, and they look totally ridiculous in the desert.
Since this is a holiday movie, of course the boy and his family are reunited.

4. Nestor, the Long-Eared Donkey (Rifftrax)

So how did Rifftrax get this holiday special that Kinga is certain she saw when she was young?
Well, it's kind of a variation of the Rudolph story, except it stars a donkey who had very long ears but they come in handy when it helps Mary and Joseph get to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus. The song was co-written by Gene Autry a couple of years before (same guy who sung "Rudolph"). It aired on ABC back in the '70s and '80s but clips of it can be found in YouTube. You can find it on DVD.
The reason why it may not be seen on TV is because it's kind of dark in the first half, since Nestor is mainly on his own in his journey.

5. Rifftrax Christmas Circus

This was an easy choice for Kinga, after taking one look at Whizzo, the star of the holiday special. It's a filmed version of the TV show he had in the 60's in Kansas City. Rather than try to describe the movie, which somehow involves a magic carpet and a time machine, here's a review.
It's preceded with a short about the short life of Christmas trees, and they have faces!

6. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (Cinematic Titanic)

This is where Kinga starts to suspect she's been tricked by Synthia, who suggested this last movie.
Kinga isn't happy to see Mary Jo riffing in this movie, or Trace and Frank either. She wonders if it's really Pearl, Dr. Forrester and TV's Frank under assumed names. She's also puzzled seeing Dr. Erhardt there, too.
Still, she sends this movie to Jonah, figuring showing him this movie twice, but with different riffs, could throw him off. It doesn't.

When both gauntlets are done, Kinga fumes at Synthia.
"I should have known you would turn against me, Synthia," she says.
"Hey, I'm a clone of Pearl," she says," What did you expect?"
"Working with Jonah, too? C'mon"
"Well, these gauntlets don't really work because fans did these things when we weren't around.
Face it, Kinga, you can keep this experiment going, Netflix willing, but it won't be like the old days."
"Yeah, Synth?", Kinga says, "Tell that to some of the viewers from the old days. I am glad the newbies like us fine."
"Just hope Netflix will still want us, if not Daredevil."
"Well, better Netflix than....that third-rate David Blaine who made a fool of me"
"I know. Merry Christmas."

Kinga calls Jonah, scowls at him for a minute and yells, "BAH HUMBUG!"
"Hey, I apologize for surviving the gauntlets."
"You should! Stay away from Donna, too. She's bad news...for someone.....and....well, I should still say this, Merry Christmas, guys."
"Thank you," Jonah says."Merry Christmas to you too."
"Just remember, you're not getting a happy new year from me. After all, there's always movie sign...
I hope"
After that, she pushed the button.

MST3K Live In San Francisco: It's the Brain Game

Waiting 18 months for a new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is tedious, waiting almost that long to see Joel and Jonah up close and personal was tough, too.

Finally, I got to the Warfield for my first visit to San Francisco in five years. Lots have changed, and the sidewalk feces problem wasn't that bad. Actually, I was surprised the lower level was just chairs and the upper section all plush seats. Also, where else can you see this in the ceiling:

Dressed as Dr. Erhardt (remember him?), I was at the pre-show Q and A where people asked Joel about his favorite episode, and how mocking movies turned out to be a gold mine. I asked how he compared doing a tour than one-night stands from the Cinematic Titanic days.He said the MST shows are more complex, and it took a while to get it right. Jonah joined in and admitted he was a Fruity Pebbles fan.

The structure of the show was different, too, Without having Kinga and Max to mock Jonah, Crow and Servo from the Moon (something about meeting their price), Synthia  could do anything she wanted, and it made for an interesting show. They threw in some local jokes about traffic and the Mayor. They also had to "drive in" through something that was not Phil Coulson's Lola.

After Jonah had his invention, which was a stink cannon that fired flawless smoke rings:

Synthia turned the experiment into a game show. Maybe Kinga has no idea how the live show is coming along. Then again, she has her own game show for Jonah called
"Season 12: The Gauntlet" around Thanksgiving. I wouldn't be surprised if  Syn pushes Kinga out eventually, but shows she isn't an exact clone of Pearl.

.
Anyway, the movie was The Brain, which is about a brain that came from...somewhere...hoping to control all of mankind with the help of a guy who's not Phil Donahue. The only hope is some prankster who's somewhere between John Travolta and John Stamos, and relies on his girlfriend to do his homework. It doesn't help that there's lot of deaths, and Jim gets accused of all of them thanks to the Brain hypnotizing the town with little effort.  The full version is on YouTube, but the MST version doesn't include bare breasts and the more gory deaths.

As shown here, it starts with only Jonah and Joel riffing. Eventually, The gang was split between Team Red (Joel and Servo) and Team Yellow (Jonah and Crow) and they competed for points. For the record, Joel won, but it's likely the results differed depending on the venue. It's a great idea to vary the experiment, even if it's only for live shows. The point is, the public wants the best in vindictive movie commentary. This show delivered.

Here's a very good picture of the gang...

and the first official look at Dr. Donna St. Phibes (any takers she's a frantic frenemy of Kinga's back in Evil Scientist School?). Apparently her specialty is caring for B-movie monsters, like this one.

She was also a close friend of Jan in the Pan from "Brain That Wouldn't Die".

Dr. Donna was a big hit with the crowd, especially when she let the Brain  possess her so it could tell its side of the movie. Sadly, it didn't explain how it was born.
One thing's for sure, she looks like she's about to take the most evil free-throw.

As we said, the riffing style was done differently, probably after re-tooling the show throughout the tour. At one point, they had to riff sound effects. That's why the bots said "Bang" a lot when the cop tried to arrest Jim the Joker and his girlfriend Janet but kept aiming his gun at them while he handcuffed them. They also had to come up with names of perfumes Chanel and Calvin Klein would never make, like "Corridor" or "Tight Squeeze."

Some of the more interesting riffs...

A woman watches "Independent Thinking", the show the Brain uses for world conquest
Oh, they cast the new Roseanne

Jim arrives to school in his car
Why is the new kid driving Christine?

Some creepy male nurse named Varna shows up
Rowsdower?

The teens are chased by everyone at the complex where the Brain is, and leave via a very small door.
Narnia was crazy this time.

Jim has to come back to save Janet (of course) and they're still trying to avoid the Brain
The ultimate relationship test:  Ikea.

There are also riffs on Billy Idol, SNL, Molly Ringwald, SCTV and Soylent Green. There is also one late riff that wraps up the movie perfectly.

Finally, the full cast...

It's a pity the live shows aren't taped. It was great seeing the past and the present get together to keep the MST3K saga going. Hopefully, Netflix will fork over more bucks for future live shows, and maybe Kinga and Max will come in person to take over the live show...or maybe it takes THEM over?

Until then, fans will see if showing Jonah and his bots six lousy movies in a row will drive them nuts..or drive Kinga and Max nuts because they don't get the results they expect.
We'll find out November 22nd on Netflix.
By the way, it's the same day Kurt Russell is Santa Claus in another Netflix show. He can wait, but see that guy, too.

Kiss Our Gunt! Rifftrax Is Ready For Lame Video Movie

I have a lot of Rifftrax riffs that are "just the jokes" of major movies. In most cases, I have the movies that go along with them, especially Star Wars, the Deathly Hallows movies and the two Jurassic Park movies that came close to being good.

However, I decided to rent Ready Player One after getting the riff for it. From the start, I was aware Mike, Kevin and Bill would rip this movie apart because of the famous 372 Pages I Will Never Get Back podcast.

Sure enough, they really went to town, and maybe they have a point. It doesn't help that the CGI versions of Parzival and Art3mis are much more interesting that who they really are, two teens named Wade and Samantha.

The plot, of course, is millions of people getting lost in a virtual world called the Oasis to avoid reality. This is especially necessary for Wade, who lives in a stacked mobile home park in Columbus, OH about 20 years in the future.
Then comes news of a contest where people have to find three magic keys that will get the winner about half a billion dollars in video game stock and control of the Oasis. This also get the attention of Sorrento, an evil billionaire played by Orson Krennick, er, Ben Mendelsohn. He has a ton of people working to get the keys so he doesn't have to. Kinda like Veruca Salt, and we know what happened to her in a nice musical number from the real Willy Wonka movie.

From there, it's a lame version of Kingdom Hearts with occasional trips back to a reality that's a bummer.

The final scene is a cute version of the Battle of the Bastards from Game of Thrones, followed by a  weird finale that rips off Willy Wonka,
Also, it must be said that Oscar winner Mark Ryland does a great job as a video game genius who wound up like Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High who got wasted a few times too many. It's amazing considering he also played a Russian spy who was a bit too calm in Bridge of Spies.
Also, I was stunned a certain actor was in this, who made a good old guy. Thank goodness he's done better stuff elsewhere.

OK, riff time:

Parzival discovers he has to travel backwards to get the first key because "Bill and Ted did it."
That's it! I've got to kill Alex Winter

He talks about his new suit having a "microfiber crotch inlay"
Microfiber Crotch Inlay would have been a better name for this movie.

Some virtual goons from IOI (Sorrento's company) storm the virtual night club where Parzival and Art3mis are dancing
This is downright Orwellian...if Orwell was a complete dumbass.

The real teens behind the avatars, Wade and Samantha, aren't exactly Tracy and Hepburn
Dukakis in his tank had more chemistry than these two.

Chucky shows up as an avatar. Yes, that Chucky
Seth Green? How can he help?

As usual, they squeeze in a joke on Nick Nolte, but also fire riffs on Jewel, Zach Synder, driving in Boston, Air Supply, Short Round and Colecovision....to name just a few.

The riff is available at the website at rifftrax.com

Stuffing or Potatoes? Nope! Feast on New MST3K Instead

Good news! Jonah Heston survived the "wedding" that ended season eleven of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
After that, his fate is up in the air.

Netflix FINALLY revealed the show will have six new episodes on Thanksgiving, November 22nd, instead of the usual Friday release.

It was done because the show started on Thanksgiving 1988, so it was the perfect exception.
The start of season 12 will be the first fresh episode since April 14, 2017, or about 18 months. It's the longest period between shows since Comedy Central dumped the show in May 1996 and SyFy brought it back eight months later.
This also means the new six-pack will be unveiled after the live tour, which starts in less than two weeks and will run until just before the holidays.

The previous season ended when Kinga tried to "marry" Jonah just for the ratings. He hesitates, figuring he may not survive the reception. Actually, Max made a new friend by suddenly finding a metallic Reptilicus, and tells it to eat Jonah. She thinks Jonah was killed, but apparently only for a little while. Jonah does survive, but Kinga decides he must die (or suffer) via exposure to cheesy movies, the worst she can find (la-la-la).
The only question is how Max is not killed by Kinga over this. At least Clayton needed Frank as a friend/victim, and she doesn't see Max that way....but should. It's certain the Boneheads wouldn't put up with this.
We'll also see if Synthia has "matured" after being Pearl's clone for a while, There are signs in the comic book that she has.

Some photos were unveiled by the AV Club, which broke the news:

There's also this picture where Jonah confronts Kinga and Max, which is unheard of compared to the old days.

It seems to be set just after "At The Earth's Core", but it's safe to say while Jonah gets the drop on the Mads and their Boneheads, the bad guys'll figure out how to keep the experiment going. At least Waverly is rebuilt and he'll have a new friend.
Still, why a band? Will they take on "Don't Knock the Rock" or something like that?

The great thing is that fans can decide how long the annual Turkey Day marathon can last. It can be ten hours as it was at Shout Factory's website or YouTube in previous years, or four days if the NFL games are actually must-see. It's best to see the episodes in order, then maybe mix them up later. As Joel said at the Revival League podcast, he'll start the season with his second-best joke and finish it with his best joke, as stand-ups do.

Hopefully, the show will have a six-pack of cinematic sludge every six months, and ease eager fans.
Of course, MST fans have satisfied their bad movie heckling need thanks to Rifftrax. Wouldn't it be a good idea for Kinga to "wage war" with Rifftrax, but nothing comes of it for a while? Since "Pearl" is with Rifftrax now, at least we should have that.

Until then, the tradition resumes in the not too distant future, Thanksgiving A-D.

UPDATE:  Joel Hodgson just announced Shout Factory's annual MST3K Thanksgiving Marathon will be held on November 18, which is the final night of the live tour in Minneapolis. As usual, it'll have six classic shows.

Krull Isn't Dull Thanks To Rifftrax

It's a pity that this summer's Rifftrax Live series was so short at two movies. After taking a second look at an MST3k fan favorite in Space Mutiny, the gang took on a cheesy sci-fi fantasy from 1983 called Krull over the weekend.
They're still not sure if Krull is the planet, the "hero", an old man or even a transparent spider.

The gang of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett are sure the movie gave Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltrane their big breaks in the movies, and that's something. The crew did a wonderful job with sharp riffs that kept this movie from getting too dull.

The story is about Colwyn and Lyssa, a prince and princess who are about to marry to unite their kingdoms. However, they're interrupted by a spaceship/evil castle/very big piece of driftwood. Lyssa is kidnapped by some weird looking alien called The Beast, and Colwyn the Boy King (or is it King Boy) spends the rest of the movie trying to save her,
It's a pity Lyssa, played by Lysette Anthony, is incredibly boring. She has three modes: anticipating marriage, running around aimlessly and staring into space.
It also doesn't help that she's dubbed by Lindsay Crouse, who's a much better actress.

Still, Colwyn needs a goal, and it's Princess Dull. He gets help from an old guy named Ynyr, an incompetent magician who gets lucky once, a bunch of unkempt bandits that include Neeson and Coltrane, a blind wizard, a Cyclops, alien Clydesdales, and a woman who lives in a web. She's played by Masterpiece Theater fave Francesca Annis. The only reason she's helping is that her name is the same as Princess Barbie Dull, and she should have been the main princess instead, really.

The logo of the movie is a glaive Colwyn finds in a river of hot Hawaiian Punch concentrate after climbing rocks for 20 minutes. He doesn't use it until the third act when he's battling the Beast...and the weapon that finally works is something else completely. Wha?

The Big Bad isn't that much better. We only see certain ugly parts until it's revealed he's (as the RT gang says) a tumor that gave birth to a Muppet. Sure, Colwyn had to kill it twice, but it's still a lame villain.

Anyway, let's get to the riffs. Some of them will include photos.

The Beast's Slayers attack the wedding
They accidentally hired a Red Wedding planner

Colwyn doesn't seem like a swashbuckler, or a King Boy.

Nothing says "action hero" like striped clowny pants

Coltrane looks like a Super Mario Brother, but Bill has another idea:

Bears, Polish Sausage, Ditka

The Beast tries to "seduce" Lyssa while looking like an evil Richard Chamberlain and showing what a two-timer Colwyn isn't...

Beast:  Lyssa....
Mike Nelson:  You're tearing me apart. (just think about that for a minute)

That's after it tries to put a wedding dress on her

Invisible Pope! Run!

Ynyr, the old guy, talks about the Widow of the Web

"She has great powers"
"Yeah, to kill"
"She may not kill me, for I know her name"
DEBBIE! (What, not Oprah or the Divine Miss M?)

They make fun of Neeson's movies, of course, especially when his character's dying words are that he never go to work with Jake Lloyd (look it up). There's also traditional callbacks to Golden Corral, Michael Vick and TLC, and riffs about Thai soccer players, Beauty and the Beast and Marilyn Manson.

While the live season is done, Rifftrax fans are looking forward to riffs on Ready Player One and Solo: A Star Wars Story. The riff for Krull should be available around Thanksgiving, while the movie itself is readily available. Mike Nelson also has a song about Krull that gives a fairly decent summary of the plot, but it's not like hearing the gang scowl at the movie itself.

Choose your riff at the website.

The NHL Visits Reno For Hot August Knights

This is not a meeting of the Nevada Mascot Association, but it's a good sign to see Archie Ace and Truckee from Reno 1868 FC to join Chance from the Las Vegas Golden Knights as part of the team's efforts to be the main NHL team for Reno, Boise, Wyoming and Salt Lake City.

It had a big bus as part of a road trip that started in Reno at the Atlantis this past Monday. It was a basic promotion that included the bus, some hockey goals for kids to shoot at, and Brad Hunt signing autographs.

While it's great the team is putting more attention to northern Nevada (which had a pro hockey team very briefly), it would have been great if they had jerseys on display or the Western Conference Trophy. Maybe throw in a few genuine hockey sticks and pucks.
There's also an effort to build a year-round ice rink to encourage youth hockey in Reno. There's been some talk of adding a rink to the Events Center to bring the ECHL here. Hopefully that will advance very soon.

It would also help if local radio or TV would show more Golden Knights games. They're occasionally on NBC Sports Network, but Spectrum doesn't have the local regional sports channel, AT&T Sportsnet, that carries the team. That would help, too. That's the best way to compete with the Aces and 1868...and University of Nevada, too.

Still, it's a good start, and it's getting me interested in getting a jersey of my own. For now, I have this...

Rifftrax Summer Starts With Space Mutiny, Take Two

Along with Flag Day, the start of the World Cup and the arrival of Incredibles 2, Rifftrax had to compete with a lot to start its live season with a second look at an MST3K season eight classic, Space Mutiny. It's known for cheesy sets, recycled footage from Battlestar Galactica and a hunky guy with way too many nicknames.

The plot features a crew in a spaceship heading somewhere after traveling for hundreds of years. Some guy who looks like the lead singer from Human League plots to take over the ship. There's a cheesy disco scene, a "sex" scene and lots of people falling over handrails. There's also modern dancers with glowing balls that seem to guide the crew to goodness...or pervy thoughts.

The live version, which was shown from Nashville, wasn't as brutal as the MST3K version, but still pretty good. They took out a lot of jokes that point out how Cameron Mitchell looks like Santa, plus some '90s references like Ed Grimley and Armand Assante. It still emphasizes Lea, the female lead, looks much older and less sexy that she thinks. Of course, the joke's on us: Reb Brown (Dave Ryder/Big McLargehuge/Bob Johnson) wound up marrying Cisse Cameron (Lea)
Also, John Philip Law, who was the swanky thief Diabolik in MST's final episode, wound up as Kalgan, who laughs too much and swallows the scenery whole.

Of course, there's Lieutenant Lemont, who's compared to Melissa Manchester in the MST3K version, and Jeff Lynde and Bob Ross in the Rifftrax version. She's best known for getting killed by Kalgan in one scene, then alive in the next scene. Also, some parts of the ship included brick walls.

The show's big feature is seeing Kevin Murphy in a space mumu, similar to the one worn by Cameron Mitchell. He looks like the leader of a world filled with movie critics.

Lately, Rifftrax has taken second looks at a lot of movies, like Gamera a few weeks ago, and Joe Don Baker's Final Justice a couple of years ago. Again, the crew revised the riffs to fit modern times, but they're not quite as biting as the original.
So, let's compare..

First appearance of Battlestar Galactica footage
RT: Giant Owl Robot eyes, how's it going?
MST:  Outlets in space (and yes, they admitted they missed the fact it was BG footage the first time)

The Valerians "dance"

RT:  We summon you, St. Bonnie Tyler
MST:  It's a Wiccan Tupperware party

Lea "dances" with a hula hoop

RT: (Mike) When I do this, I get tossed out of the public library
MST:  In the future, there is no shame (which is a better riff and more prescient)

Lemont dies, then doesn't

MST:  I think it's very nice of you to give that dead woman another chance
RT:  I enjoyed your funeral, Janet

Then the ending where Kalgan doesn't die after all, thinking this will require a sequel

MST:  We don't need more Kalgan
RT:  What the Hell did I just watch?

Naturally, there was a bunch of new nicknames for Ryder, including Luke Rockhold. Dumb, isn't it?

They also got around Lea baring her breasts after she and Ryder make love by blocking it with a CGI Gorilla Gram...which looked more like a Gorilla Pig. Actually, if they cut the "conversation" Lea had with Ryder, we wouldn't have missed anything.

There's also riffs on Rutherford B. Hayes, Beastie Boys, Two Broke Girls and the Fantastic Four.

Before the movie, they had a short based on the HG Wells story, "The Magic Shop". It involved a magician who's slightly flashier than Jack Cassidy and a chubby kid who was easily amused. The crew commented on a poster of Thurston being a mashup of Dracula and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The live version will be available sometime in the fall as a digital download or DVD, while the original is available at Rifftrax.
The next live show comes in August with"Krull", a cheesy movie that at least features Liam Neeson in "you gotta start somewhere" mode.

By the way, Amazon Prime has added new titles from Rifftrax including Merlin The Return, Terror at Tenkiller (a slasher film that's more lifeless than the victims), Superargo and the Faceless Giants and City of the Dead with Christopher Lee.

Gamera or Gammera? Rifftrax Takes On The Turtle

It's amazing that Rifftrax snagged this Americanized version of the first Gamera movie, which was a major highlight of MST3K's third season. However, Shout Factory can't sell that episode because Toho and Sandy Frank won't let them. For the record, the Gamera set can be bought at Amazon, for a price slightly less steeper than a MST Live Tour ticket that includes a picture with Joel.

Rifftrax's riffing isn't nearly as dark as the MST version and neither is the movie. Gammera, with an extra "m", cuts out a lot of the original to fit in several scenes with American military trying to figure out how to handle the big turtle. Fans also notice some scenes were re-cut to fit in a scene where the United Nations is trying to find a solution.
However, a couple of scenes that inspired some good riffs are out. We lose the American general who looks like Curly from the Three Stooges, and the "news stud" from New York..

The "Gammera" movie reminds me of "Gigantis", an English version of Godzilla's second movie which was re-edited so that people thought it was a different monster.

Again, the Rifftrax take on "Gammera" is lighter than the MST version but it also throws in a couple of obscure movie riffs and a well-known one.

For example, when Gammera breaks through the ice after a plane crashes, Mike Nelson is annoyed and says "Another Infinity Stone?"

Then they get into gear when Gammera meets Toshio/Kenny

Rifftrax:  Hey, kid, you know of any all-night terrariums where a guy can get his shell rubbed?
MST3K:  Those kids at school, they tease you, Kenny, because they never tasted Hell.

Then there's the scene where Gammera is on his back. They think he's lost...until he turns on his jets that help him fly.

MST3K:  Check it out, it's the Batmobile
Rifftrax:  He's activating his hemorrhoids!

There's also riffs on Mitch McConnell, Jewel, D-Day, United Airlines, and a Tom Hanks movie that people didn't like.

Gammera is available at the Rifftrax website.

This Is Not Rifftrax's Last Star Wars Movie

Rifftrax has taken on several movie franchises with a little good-natured heckling like with the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, or utter contempt like Twilight, the Star Wars prequels or Sharknado.

In the case of The Last Jedi, there may have been a little of both. While the movie is, deep down, the passing of the torch from Darth Vader, Luke and Leia to Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren, some people were surprised on the decisions the story made. It still did pretty good in the box office, though.

This also marks the ninth Star Wars movie the riffers have seen, with Solo coming something in the fall. That's more than Harry Potter.

The gang of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett took aim at at lot of the movie, especially Kylo Ren's looks, Rose repeating the plot as the movie went on, Luke Skywalker being a hermit, Benicio De Toro's acting, and the fact that Star Wars movies seem to happen every month. They jam a lot of riffs into two and a half hours.

The story is Rey trying to get Luke off the island to help the Resistence. There's also Kylo and Rey "connecting" and almost joining together, a breakout character in Rose, Poe almost being Han Solo although his droid pal actually does more, and Leia making what would turn out to be her final performance (especially how she gets out of being blasted into space).

There are dozens of good riffs, but let's look at five:

The first meeting between Rey and Luke, where she gives him his Lightsaber..and he tosses it aside
His agent just called. He got the green light for Corvette Summer 2

Leia's blasted into space, but the Force saves her
I knew all that coke in my bloodstream would come in handy

Luke boards the Millennium Falcon for the first time in years
It's like a hobo snuck aboard Air Force One

Rey and Kylo "connect" and "touch" hands
In the Jedi religion, they're married now

The ghost of Yoda tells Luke "the greatest teacher, failure is"
If that were true, then why are these no better than the original prequels?

There's also riffs on Amazon Dash, Ex Machina, Monster Mash, Bismark, ND and Norman Spears Jr...and that's only the beginning.

As usual, it's at the Rifftrax website, along with a section for riffs of the other movies of the franchise.
Solo is coming up next, and it'll make sense one of them will take notes. They've already done the same to Ready Player One because they hated the book.

Of course, if they had the nerve, they'd also take on Infinity War and Avengers 4: Wait, Did We Lose Eleven  Billion Dollars Thanks To The Ending? We shall see.

Now We Can Talk About The 258 Million Dollar Infinity War

This post will discuss at great length the ending to the $258 million movie, Avengers Infinity War. If you haven't see it yet, why not?
So, a three second warning..



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OK, how can we have a Spider-Man sequel if he was erased from existence thanks to the Infinity Gauntlet?
Same thing for Dr. Strange, Peter Quill, Drax, Groot, Mantis, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Bucky Barnes, Black Panther (after all the Oscar-worthy things he did???), Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Sam Wilson/Falcon?

Well, as the Doc says, this is part of the only sequence of events where they beat Thanos, out of several million he saw thanks to the Time Stone. No relying on a little girl who predicts the future through drawings here.

Two deaths will stick, Heimdal and Loki, while Gamora, who Thanos killed to get the Soul Stone, might be up in the air.

It's safe to say people are shocked beyond belief the bad guys win this time. Thanos gets the Infinity Stones, which no one has done before, snaps his fingers and kills half of the universe. That's his way of ending starvation and war because his own planet of Titan rejected the idea.

It's interesting, and stressful, to notice all the original Avengers are still here, along with Rocket Raccoon, War Machine and Nebula. Thing is, Rocket, Nebula and Iron Man are trapped on Titan while the rest are on Earth. How will they combine forces to undo the ending?
Also, what will Thanos do next, aside from smile about what he's done?

The original story says someone named Adam Warlock will rally the other heroes against Thanos, while an angry Nebula will try to steal it.
You will not see that in Avengers 4.
Warlock is being saved for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 as the guy sent by the Sovereign to clobber the gang for several reasons.
As for Nebula, she could either get the Infinity Gauntlet to kill Thanos or undo everything, and not do either. Another possibility is giving up her life for Gamora in some way. Since Karen Gillan wants to get into directing and acting (just like Chris Evans), Nebula could perish in next year's movie.

So, what about the others?
There have been dozens of theories about how it can be all undone, including the original MCU Avengers giving up their lives to bring the others back.  It's quite possible they would trade their lives for Bucky, Spidey and everyone else. It would be a sad end, but maybe a necessary one to lead to Phase 4.
Only one snag: what if you need the Avengers plus those caught in Thanos' Erasing together? It would make sense to have everyone back just short of the third act for the final battle.
Let's not forget they'll also get Ant-Man, the Wasp, Hawkeye (remember him?), Valkyrie (now that we know she got away before Thanos smashed the Asgardian ship) and Captain Marvel, who has a big surprise for Thanos and everyone else.

The point is, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark will go. This will be their swan song. If they survive (especially Tony, since Pepper Potts will "convince" him to retire and try being Iron Husband/Dad for a while), that would be better. Still, be ready for anything.
Nebula could also perish to save Gamora, and that seems more likely.
After that, who knows? It's certain Black Panther and Spider-Man are coming back, along with all of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanos may be powerful, but no Infinity Gauntlet is strong enough to break a future Marvel movie calendar.
After that, maybe Scarlet Witch and Vision can head for the sunset while Sam and Bucky split the Captain America role. If Valkyrie also makes it, she can lead an all-heroine Avengers group by 2022 at least.

One more thing: seeing how some of the heroes died, dissolving into limbo, could that happen elsewhere?
Is it possible the events of Infinity War somehow affect Agents of SHIELD?
TV Line has suggested maybe the movie and the show are on the same timeline, and some agents, even Coulson, could die at the end of season five (which could also be the end).  It all depends on what will happen if they manage to break the time loop, and exactly where in time the agents land if they do.
UPDATE:  Adrian Pasdar, now General Glenn Gravi-Talbot, says the events of Thanos will leak into the show, according to TV Line. He hasn't seen the movie, which may or may not mean the Erasing will affect the agents.

It would be interesting to have a season that starts when Thanos gets the stones and his wish. Either Fitz or Simmons dissolve, while Coulson goes and maybe Elena, too. Heck, let's bring back Lance Hunter who says Bobbi Morse "dissolved".
Some new agents arrive, including the "evil spawn" Ruby and Werner after they claim they want to renounce HYDRA...and mean it. Maybe they remember the timeline that never was, and figure that changing their ways will be wise. There'll be pushback from HYDRA supporters as they take advantage of the chaos created by Thanos, but the kids hold firm in their new attitude. Ruby and Daisy become pals after all, while Werner gets his "revenge" against SHIELD by learning how to fight thanks to Mack.
Of course, everyone returns, and it would set up maybe a SHIELD spinoff or two with the new agents. If ABC won't do this, FX or Netflix should. Ten to 13 episodes should do it.

For now, we'll have to wait and see, while hoping that Deadpool 2 will ease our pain.

Rifftrax Wonders Where Westworld Went Wrong...Went Wrong....Went Wrong...

After mocking two episodes of Game of Thrones, the Rifftrax gang wondered which cable show they can attack next. It will take on the first episode of Stranger Things later this summer (after MST3K mocked the first two minutes last year).

Since season two of Westworld is coming next weekend, let's take a look on how Rifftrax looked at the first episode. The gang spend a lot of time on how the show compared to the movie, and slipped in a riff about Yul Brynner. Most of the riffs were mainly about how really rich guys went to Westworld to pretend to be outlaws and desperados and have sex with robots (which is the opposite of its VOD Dark Future), and how the people who built it think they're just making a Disneyland on steroids. Or as Kevin Murphy described the place, "Westworld, where insanely rich people want the same vacation as an eight-year-old boy from the '50's."...with sexy and violent results.

The opener has people enjoying the fake Western life complete with booze, guns and women, the staff dealing with glitches affecting the "hosts", and a girl named Dolores suddenly realizing her life isn't what she thought it was. Safe to say, when season two starts, the tables and worms will turn.

However, this blog is more about the riffs than the show, so, let's get to it:

The opening credits inspired some good riffs:

When can I hump a robot?
Ah, ha, Westworld
What's Westworld?

Tim Burton's Annie Oakley

Then the action begins...

Dolores is sitting nude on a stool, as Bernard talks to her
"Do you know where you are?"
Auditioning for a Weinstein film?

The staff enters a room where dozens of hosts are stored, and they're nude
Looks like the Rhythm Nation hit the skids

A chunky guy, later identified as an employee for Tires Plus, is excited he's looking for a dangerous gunman. His wife is not.
Why did I bring Ricky Gervais to the Wild West?

A poster is spotted with a guy named Larry Clause wanted for murder
Santa's evil half-brother. 

Dolores is upset her friend Teddy (also a host) has been shot.
"Teddy, No!"
You've got to uphold the Ruxpin name.

There's also riffs on Matt Lauer, Blade Runner, Deadwood, Philadelphia, Thomas the Tank Engine and John Ford.

We can't exactly prove it, but there's a chance Rifftrax mocked Westworld after Mike Nelson discovered he didn't like Ready Player One after he read it. Thus, he decided to riff on another technological oasis, a more disturbing one. RP1, though, will be next.

You can get the riff on HBO's Westworld opener at the Rifftrax website.

Rifftrax vs. Godmonster of Indian Flats, or Mutated Alf Goes West

There are some movies that make no sense, no matter how people try to justify it. The Wild, Wild World of Batwoman comes to mind, along with Bermuda Triangle. The Last Slumber Party and whatever that movie was where some mad scientist tries to drive a small town insane then burn it down to hide the evidence.

For the most part, the movies Rifftrax has targeted movies that make some sense, but not the ones just mentioned here.
Then there's Godmonster of Indian Flats, part Western and part mutant sheep movie set in a small Nevada town called "Comstock" in 1973.  A sheep farmer named Eddie wins 200 bucks in Reno then hitches a ride to the small town and gets robbed. He then meets a professor named Clements who gets him to a farm to sleep it off.

After having a weird dream about sheep, he wakes up to a mutated embryo. The doc tries to bring it to term, while linking it to a legend about a monster from the mines.
Eddie also hangs out with an almost-cute girl named Mariposa.

The movie then concentrates on the town and Mayor Silverdale, who is trying to keep some African-American guy named Barnstable from buying the town because the mayor thinks it'll ruin the heritage and old-fashioned way of life.

The mayor and the citizens go to great lengths to keep Barnstable from buying the town, mainly by framing him for shooting a dog and a guy with a weird haircut.

Once the monster is revealed, the mayor thinks it can get tourists to the town. They even rope the thing.

Then there's the ending. Mayor Silverdale makes crazy announcements, including the fact that he has bought the town and the monster's in a cage. This leads to a riot that makes no sense, while the Mayor makes even less sense. Finally, it climaxes with the monster exploding, and the sheep eating its remains. This seems to guarantee they'll be future Godmonsters to come, and that should bring in the tourists, right?

This movie is so bizarre, at least one website has tried to make sense of this. Crimes Against Cinema claims the movie is actually a response to race relations, corporate greed, nostalgia and incompetently-made monster costumes. Whether that's true is another matter.
It might remind people of Creeping Terror, especially how it approaches its small-town victims. Thankfully, it doesn't eat anyone.

OK, let's get to the riffs:

Eddie tries to convince a deputy he was just robbed
Deputy Dog in human form.

Sheriff Gordon tries to do his job from his office, which includes a closed circuit screen.
Ready Player One had more gunting than this guy.

Some weird woman spies on Eddie and Mariposa from a graveyard
Lydia Dietz, the middle-aged dowager years.

The fake funeral for the dog Barnstable didn't kill
Spuds MacKenzie will say a few words.
NO, YOU'RE DRUNK!

The Godmonster is leaking yellow smoke
When there's smoke, there's a barely functioning puppet.

The mayor gives an insane rant about him beating Barnstable or something
We have to restore some sanity here. Please fill your underpants with baked beans and run around yelling "I killed the Kaiser".

There's also riffs on Matt Lauer, Reno, Guy From Harlem, Al Pacino, video games, and the Ice Cream Bunny.

The movie is available on the Rifftrax website.
Also, the site will start selling episodes from season eleven later this month. Individual episodes are available at $7.97 for regular video or HD versions for $9.97. The whole season can be had for $99, which is the better bargain because you get all 14 episodes and the documentary that shows how MST3K returned.

Is Rifftrax Taking a Page From MST3K's Kickstarter Campaign?

Once again, Rifftrax has gotten more than enough funding for its annual live shows. It also broke a record, snagging just over 501 thousand dollars from more than 9400 backers.
The stretch goal rewards were a bit impressive, including riffs on Last Jedi, Ready Player One and the first episode of Stranger Things. They also gave out its first set of pins to rival the ones MST3K has been selling, a VOD of a movie that features the voice of Eric Roberts (which you can call "Uninvited II: Look Who's Talking Meow), a blu-ray of the Space Mutiny live show, and a new DVD of shorts.
Even the one dollar donors came out ahead by getting ten shorts, and an upcoming riff of Solo: A Star Wars Story for free. This should be interesting since no one knows how a movie about a young Han Solo will do come Memorial Day weekend.
Even with a 100 dollar pledge (which I made), backers got good value. It's too bad it'll be only two shows this year with Space Mutiny and Krull. It would have been nice to get another Halloween live show in there, but it's possible it could add a "best of" show again.
Besides, people will get a chance to hear alternative opinions about three blockbuster movies. The Avengers and Marvel should be grateful they won't be targets this year.

What's interesting is that the campaign isn't really over
People who contributed to the MST3K Kickstarter campaign two years ago got a chance to buy some of the rewards separately, including USB drives shaped like Servo and Crow, a special DVD set of season eleven, t-shirts, calendars and even a coffee table book.
It only makes sense that Rifftrax follow suit. Clicking to this link will send you to a BackerKit showing all the non-video rewards. They're all reasonably priced, too.
The pins are 12 bucks apiece, but the full set is 40 dollars. The Space Mutiny DVD is priced the same as the other DVDs in either form. People who just want the digital media in one package can do that, too.
In fact, that section has already raised a thousand bucks in the first day. If only the number of backers could be added so we can get closer to more people getting a free riff of Ready Player One. Oh, well...
The shorts should be available soon, but you can bet a lot of people just can't wait until the Last Jedi riff is available, It'll please those who liked the movie and those who felt betrayed by weird stuff by seeing Leia float in space and live, Rey and Kylo getting a bit too close, or Luke milking that....whatever it was.

Meanwhile, the MST3K season 11 DVD is coming in a month, but people can get it just after Easter if they order now at the website or Shout Factory. It'll include a documentary about how the show finally came back. Maybe once everyone can get it in three weeks we'll know when they'll start making season 12.

Time For Rifftrax's Annual Pledge Drive, With Cheesy Sci-Fi

Being a fan of vindictive movie commentary is getting expensive...and worth every penny.

It's bad enough the new MST3K on Netflix is pulling a lot of fans' hard earned money thanks to an upcoming DVD set, t-shirts, pins, oven mitts and aprons. Now Rifftrax is asking the fans to give again for this year's live shows.

The drive started on February 20th and will continue through just before Easter. Its goal is 250 thousand dollars, same as last year. It earned 430 thousand bucks, and might hit it again if it offers the right stretch goals. Last Jedi and It's A Wonderful Life riffs, anyone?

Two movies are confirmed, as shown in the above photo. Space Mutiny, a fan fave from season eight, will be shown on Flag Day. This movie was best known for giving leading man Reb Brown alternate names to his character David Ryder. The complete list is here, but for $500 anyone can come up with something stranger like maybe Ty Tanium or  Lun Dolphgren.
It's also remembered for a missed opportunity. Aside from Cameron Mitchell appearing as a commander who stole Santa's beard, and a woman who dies in one scene yet is alive again 30 seconds later, there's lots of unused footage from the original Battlestar Galactica. Mike and the bots didn't notice that, but he, Kevin and Bill won't make that mistake again.

The other movie, set for August 23rd, is Krull from 1983. It's a space swashbuckler where some prince gets some lowlife pirates to help save a queen from some beast or other. It also has cool frisbee blades that are tossed around. Checking the wiki for this movie, Liam Neeson had one of his earliest roles here.  The cast includes Robbie Coltrane, Francesca Annis just before Dune, and the body of Lysette Anthony (she was dubbed because her voice wasn't mature enough).

The movie was not popular, although it has some fans. It should be interesting how many Star Wars, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings jokes they can fit into the movie. People who pledge 25 bucks or more can get the mp3 of the Krull riff around Thanksgiving AND a ten dollar credit to cover the cost of getting the movie via Amazon Prime or DVD. That should get a lot of people to pledge at least that much cash.

As of 6 PM Pacific time, or about five hours after the Kickstarter began, it's earned 124 thousand dollars. That's much faster than last year, when the campaign hit the first goal in two weeks. Maybe it'll hit the all-time record of 630 thousand two years ago. It all depends on what else the Rifftrax gang will offer between now and March 24th.

UPDATE:  Mission accomplished after less than five days, a new record.
Last Jedi next?

Oscars 2018: The Fish Guy, Billboards, Lady Bird and Getting Out

Even before the nominations for the Academy Awards came out Tuesday morning, the acting races were already settled thanks to the SAGs and Golden Globes. Aside from that, there should be some interesting competitions when they're given out after the Olympics.

Here's the nomination announcement with Tiffany Haddish and Andy Serkis, who should get nominated someday (especially Andy, who's going to force the academy to invent Best Virtual Character someday):



Some thoughts:

Some might call the result "sexist" because Wonder Woman got nothing, but then see the real wonder woman was Greta Gerwig, getting bids for direction and writing for Lady Bird. It got five nominations, and it's a great day for Thrift Town and Sacramento.
Besides, it guarantees Gal Gadot will be there as a presenter. Some websites thought Wonder Woman would get Adapted Screenplay, and I thought maybe Costume Design would be another possibility. Hopefully, Diana of Themiscyra will get her due during the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the #MeToo campaign made James Franco the real Disaster Artist, robbing him of a Best Picture and Best Actor bid. That may be the reason why Denzel Washington made the final cut even though Roman Israel Esq. wasn't well received.

Phantom Thread, a romance set in the world of design, got in the Best Picture race because of beautiful clothes and Daniel Day Lewis. Darkest Hour is also up for Best Picture due to Gary Oldman (who will win for Best Actor just for being Churchill, and the makeup job, too).

The big battle will be between The Shape of Water, a Cold War romance that would also be a fairy tale for adults, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, MO, which starts as a woman's bid for justice but becomes something much different. Shape will get Best Director because Guillermo Del Toro is in but Martin McDonagh is not. Both are in Original Screenplay, and either may win. McDonagh may have an edge because of the unpredictability of the story. If there's a chance for an upset, Jordan Peele may do it for Get Out. However, Del Toro being in Best Director race may be enough to get Best Picture.

As I said, the acting races are done. Frances McDormand has Best Actress, Oldman Best Actor, Sam Rockwell for Supporting Actor and Alison Janney for Supporting Actress. Willem Dafoe was considered a favorite for The Florida Project, and he'd have a better chance if the movie was at smaller markets (still not in Reno, for example). It'll be more available on streaming services by early February, though

When I saw The Post this week, I knew Meryl Streep would get in for Best Actress, Seeing her as Washington Post publisher Kay Graham is amazing. She starts out unsure, relying on other men for advice. She only got the paper because her husband killed himself. Slowly, as the paper plans to expose the Pentagon Papers, she realizes she is the boss, and if this is important, she has to do the right thing. If not for McDormand, a fourth award would not have been out of the question.
The movie didn't get much after that, which upset some people. There are two reasons: it's a pretty competitive season, and Spotlight was made in 2015. Even the academy would think two really good journalism movies in five years is too much. This is called a "lame but true" excuse.

It's too bad I, Tonya didn't make the final cut for Best Picture. Otherwise, Margot Robbie would have been the first woman nominated for Best Actress and Best Picture as a producer for the same movie. You know, what happened to Nicole Kidman for Big Little Lies and Tina Fey for 30 Rock at the Emmys recently. Pick up the pace, movies.

Despite Wonder Woman being shut out. it's a good year for comic book movies. Logan, the swan song for Professor Xavier and Wolverine, got in for Adapted Screenplay (which should have happened to Steve Rogers, Wonder Woman, Deadpool, the Avengers and Batman). This is a big moment for comic book movies, and it should happen again. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume II got in for Visual Effects, which was expected. It'll have quite the battle against Last Jedi and War For The Planet of the Apes.

Between now and March 4th, there will be a few awards that may give hints on how will carry out the Oscar. Aside from the BAFTAs on February 18th, one to watch is the Writers' Guild awards held on the eleventh. It should give a hint on whether Peele could make history, or an X-Man could.

For now, let's all get caught up on our Oscar homework.